In the manufacture of fuel rail assemblies, it is a customary practice for the retention of a fuel injector in a fuel rail socket, the orientation of the fuel injector in the socket, and the electrical connection to the fuel injector to be performed as independent actions. For example, a typical fuel rail assembly that has bottom-feed fuel injectors has features molded into the molded plastic fuel rail that require the fuel injector to be properly circumferentially oriented in the fuel rail socket. Such circumferential orientation is essential in the case of split-stream type fuel injectors. A fuel injector is retained in the fuel rail socket by placing a metal clip over each injector and fastening the clip to the fuel rail by means of a fastener such as a screw, or by placing a cover plate over all injectors in a rail and fastening the cover plate to the rail. Another example involves a complex and expensive molded cover that makes electric connection to the injectors, retains the injectors, and must be releasably attached to the rail. When a fuel rail is made of metal, rather than molded from plastic, the task of incorporating retention and orienting features becomes more difficult.
The present invention relates to a new and improved electrical connector for making electrical connection to a fuel-rail-mounted fuel injector in a manner that assures proper retention and circumferential orientation of a fuel injector with less complications than heretofore. Advantages of the invention include: reduced cost and the elimination of separate attaching parts. The completed fuel rail assembly can exhibit a lower profile than prior fuel rail assemblies, and this is especially advantageous from the standpoint of engine compartment packaging in an automotive vehicle.
Further features, advantages, and benefits of the invention, along with those just mentioned, will be seen in the ensuing detailed disclosure which includes a written description and drawings of a presently preferred embodiment according to the best mode contemplated at this time for carrying out the invention.